Bandits have attacked the home town of former Zamfara State Governor
Abdulaziz Yari and abducted his brother-in-law, Alhaji Auwal Hussain,
popularly known as King.
The attack took place Sunday night.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that this was the first time the
headquarters of Talata Mafara local government was being attacked.
King, whose sister is Yari’s first wife, lives in the former
governor’s private residence before he got married and is considered
to be one of Yari’s closest boys.
Previous attacks, like the abduction of over 300 students at the
Government Girls Secondary School Jangebe, were in the local
government but in villages.
One of Yari’s top loyalists, Bello Ruwan Bado, confirmed the abduction
of the King.
The wife of his neighbor, Surajo, was also kidnapped.
Another neighbor, Mustapha Lawal, said he heard gunshots and the
voices of the bandits.
“We heard when the bandits came in the night. They came on motorcycles
and shot in the air to scare away people. It was in the night around
11:30pm.
“The fact that bandits could come into this area considered to be the
safest in Talata Mafara, which is also the second largest town in the
state, is scary. They operated for over an hour without security
personnel coming to challenge them,” he said.
A friend of Auwal, who craved anonymity, said they believed informants
were involved.
“King has just returned from Dubai and when the bandits came, they
even asked him if he had brought anything for them from Dubai. They
also didn’t kidnap anyone apart from the wife of King’s neighbor.”
Police spokesperson in the state, SP Mohammed Shehu, didn’t respond to calls and sms sent to him on the abduction.
